Three Forest and Land Fire Suspects Arrested in Banu Ayu Village
Police in East Ogan Komering Ulu (OKU) have arrested three men strongly suspected of being responsible for forest and land fires in an area belonging to PT Musi Hutan Persada (MHP). The three were detained after carrying out burning activities in Banu Ayu Village, BP Peliung District, East OKU Regency.
South Sumatra Police Head of Public Relations, Senior Commissioner Nandang Mu’min Wijaya, confirmed that the three suspects, identified by the initials YAP (19), JS (38), and OB (27), have been taken into custody. The arrests were the result of a pursuit that had been ongoing since Sunday (23/8).
“The three suspects detained since the pursuit on Sunday are now at the East OKU Police station for further legal proceedings,” Nandang said in Palembang on Tuesday (25/8).
The case came to light when monitoring tower officers detected a hotspot in the CPT 24 Block Sungai Tuha area at around 6.55 pm local time. Officers became suspicious of a car with the registration number BG-8583-DR that had stopped at the location shortly before the fire broke out.
A joint team from PT MHP security then coordinated with the Criminal Investigation Unit of the East OKU Police to trace the vehicle. Police initially detained YAP as the driver, which led to the arrests of JS and OB at 12.30 am local time.
During the operation, police seized a number of items as evidence, including a plastic bag containing burnt ash, burnt twigs and soil, and two gas lighters suspected of having been used to ignite the fire.
East OKU Police Chief AKBP Lalu Hedwin Hanggara, through Criminal Investigation Unit Head IPTU Rendi, stressed that the suspects are charged under Article 308 of Law No. 1 of 2023 (the Criminal Code) in conjunction with Article 50 and Article 78 of Law No. 41 of 1999 on Forestry, as amended by Law No. 6 of 2023 on Job Creation.
Police have again urged the public not to clear land by burning for any reason. Residents are asked to immediately report suspicious activities in forest areas to prevent wider haze disasters in the South Sumatra region.